Half to ltle l



Pat'anted Feb. 2|, I899.

A-. E. uunsuu. .SWIN'GING FLOWER SHELF.

(Application filed Apr. 2, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALBERT E. HUDSON, OF FITOHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO LYLE L. OAKES, OF SAME PLACE.

SWINGING FLOWER-SHELF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,752, dated February 21, 1899.

Application filed April 2, 1893. Serial No. 676,157. (N0 model-l T0 aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. HUDSON, of Fitchburg, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swinging Flower-Shelves, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to supports for flower-pots or jardinieres, and has for its object to provide a swinging support which may be expeditiously and easily secured to some stationary part of the window-frame and which may be swung about its pivotal connection therewith, so as not to interfere with the manipulation of the window shades or curtains.

The further object of this invention is to construct the support in such Way that the shelf may be removed from or placed upon its bracket by a movement in a horizontal plane without tilting or inclining it to any appreciable extent, whereby all the flowers and plants on the shelf may be placed in a sink to be watered without being shaken or disturbed.

To these ends the invention consists of the improvements which are illustrated uponthe drawings and which I shall now proceed to describe and claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters designating the same parts or features, as the case may be, wherever they occur.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 represents a window with my invention attached to the frame thereof. Fig. 2 represents in side elevation and partially in section the preferred embodiment of the invention. Figs. 3, 4, and5represent the removable shelf. Fig. 6 represents in perspective view the bracket. Fig. 7 represents the hanger with the bracket supported therein. Fig. 8 is a top plan View of the hanger.

Referring to the drawings, a represents a bracket-hanger having apertures to receive screws, by means of which it may be attached to a portion of the window-frame or to any other stationary support. This hanger consists of a plate or base a, outward from one longitudinal edge of which project arms a (1, having sockets a extending through the ends thereof to receive pintles from the swinging support I). The hangers are reversible, so that the arms having the sockets may be brought nearer to the median line of the window by turning the hangers upside down. In this way in securing a hanger to each side of the window-frame the socketed arms may be adjusted toward or from each othcr,as desired, without changing the relative positions of the bases of the hangers.

The swinging bracket b is provided with the elongated horizontal bar b, projecting out from the vertical bar b there being a curved brace 19 extending from the lower end of the bar 19 to the outer end of the bar I) to furnish sufficient strength to the latter to enable it to support flower-pots or other articles. From the bar 1) project lugs 5 having down wardly-projecting pintles b adapted to fit in the sockets a in'the hanger, the pintles-*and sockets forming hinge members to secure the support detachably to the hanger. Near the outer free end of the bracket is a boss I), upwardly from which projects a stud or pin W, for a purpose to be described, and at the inner or rear end of the bar b are horizontallyarranged cross bars or arms 0, projecting for some little distance on either side of the said bar a and strengthened by a web 0.

The shelf is indicated at d and is provided with a base having a flange d at its edge to prevent lateral movement of the flower-pots placed therein. This shelf is adapted to rest upon the swinging bracket 19 and is provided with two separated vertical sockets or apertures d d to receive the stud or pin 12 and with longitudinally-extended horizontal sockets d at its end to receive the end of the arms 0 c, the sockets (1 being formed by the elongated ribs d connected by a rib d extending across the shelf beneath the base of the same. The arms a, the stud b and the sockets d and d constitute couplings for detachably connecting the shelf and the swinging bracket.

To place the shelf upon its bracket, it is held over the same with the sockets d in the plane of the arms 0 c, and the shelf is moved longitudinally in a horizontal direction to bring the arms into the sockets. Then one of the sockets or apertures d is caused to register with the stud b whereupon the shelf is held securely against lateral as well as longitudinal movement. The shelf is longitudinally adjustable along the bracket and may be held in either of two positions by the stud b entering one of the sockets (1 To remove the shelf, the forward end is tilted slightly to withdraw the stud b from the aperture (P, and the shelf is then moved longitudinally in a horizontal direction, so as to move the sockets d away from the arms.

Preferably, although not necessarily, the bracket, the swinging support, and the shelf are all formed of cast metal and are worked into fanciful or ornate designs, so as to present a highly-ornamental appearance.

Generally the detachable shelves are substantially equal in length to one-half the width of the window-frame, so that when a shelf and its support are attached to each side of the window-frame they constitute substantially a two-part shelf, which extends entirely across the window.

By reason of the bracket at having a forwardly-projecting arm a" at the extreme outer edge thereof the supports and the shelves are held at some little distance from the window to prevent the leaves of the plants or the flower-pots from impinging against the'curtains or the shade, and by reason of the arms a being at the outer edge of the window-frame the manipulation of the shade is provided for, since it maybe raised and lowered freely without engaging the arms a".

If the window is comparatively Wide, the shelves are so placed that the studs 19 enter the inner apertures (1 whereas if the window is comparatively narrow the shelves are adjusted toward each other and the studs are inserted in the outer apertures or sockets.

An important feature of the invention is the provision of couplings for connecting the brackets and the shelves, by means of which the shelves may be detached substantially without tilting them by moving them in a horizontal plane, so that if it be desired to water the plants the shelf may be detached with the flower-pots upon it and the whole carried to a sink or other convenient place.

The shelf rests upon the boss 6 and the arms 0, whereby it is held against tilting sidewise and also from moving transversely or longitudinally.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forth all the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is 1. A swinging support of the character specified, comprising a bracket having horizontally-arranged projections, and a vertical stud, and a shelf having an aperture to receive the stud, and sockets to receive said horizontal members when the shelf is moved horizontally.

2. A swinging support of the character specified, comprising a bracket having laterally-projecting arms or members at one end, and a vertical stud at the other, and a shelf having underneath its base at one end ribs forming sockets to receive said arms or members and hold the shelf against upward or transverse displacement, and at the other end a socket to receive the said vertical stud, whereby the shelf is held against longitudinal movement, in combination with a hanger having socketed arms projecting from one longitudinal edge thereof, whereby the shelf may be adjusted by reversing the hanger.

3. A swinging support of the character specified, comprising a bracket having at one end laterally-projecting arms and at the other end an upwardly-projecting stud and a shelf having an aperture to receive said stud and formed with sockets under its base to receive said arms, whereby the shelf can be removed by tilting its apertured end, and then moving the whole bodily longitudinally.

4. A swinging support of the character specified, comprising a shelf having a vertical aperture and horizontal sockets, a bracket having a vertical stud to enter the aperture, horizontal arms to enter said sockets, and hinge members at one end, and a hanger having hinge members to coact with the hinge members of the bracket.

5. A swinging support of the character specified comprising a hanger having sockets, a bracket having pintles to fit in said sockets, said bracket having at one end laterally-projecting arms and at the other end aboss with an upwardly-projectin g stud, and a shelf restin g on said boss and arms and having sockets to receive said stud and said arms.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT E. HUDSON.

\Vitnesses:

Jos. W. (J. IBBOTSON, LYLE L. OAKES. 

